Didn’t think I’d get a stage named after a Weird Al parody of an Aerosmith song, but I’ll take it.
So recently, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland released. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s also free on Epic Games Store this week. So, naturally, I had to give The MIX Games and Wallride’s licensed game a spin.
Note: Epic Games Launcher doesn’t have a native screenshot feature, so hope you’re okay with stock screenshots from the game’s Steam page.
The story is basically an excuse: the babies see a commercial for a Reptar video game, and they want to play it (also, Angelica is the boss). And to do so, they need to collect all of the Reptar coins in each of the levels. At a couple of points in the game, you’ll see animated cutscenes. They’re text only, but otherwise remarkably on-model to, I’d say, later seasons of the show. This is, however, essentially an NES game at heart, though, which leads me to…
…the fact that it’s literally an NES game at heart. One of the defining features is that you can switch between the modern, HD graphics and sound and that of the actual NES game running underneath it all. One of the selling points, at least early on, was that you could actually take the ROM from the game files and run it on original hardware, if you had the means. Unfortunately, at least in the version on Epic Games, this is not possible; I took a cheeky little peek at the files and couldn’t find it (no clue when it comes to versions offered on other store fronts).
The game plays like a hybrid of the Bonk series and Super Mario Bros. 2/Super Mario USA/Doki Doki Panic. You’ve got a Bonk-like mid-air butt stomp, but you can aso normal jump on most enemies to incapacitate them, allowing you to pick them up and throw them like in Mario 2. Also like the latter, each of the babies have different specs; some are better at jumping, and some are better at lifting/throwing. As a matter of fact, the babies map quite well to the Mario 2 roster: Tommy/Mario, Chuckie/Luigi, Phil/Toad and Lil/Peach.
One of the best things is that they really tapped into the surreality of the earlier seasons of the show (Notably, there is a lack of Dill here, so that was intentional). While it’s present in all levels, dreamland probably takes the cake as far as that’s concerned. And everything looks fairly consistent with the show, with the obvious exception of the digital coloring and the like. It’s definitely the best-looking Rugrats game ever made.
So the game looks and plays great. And, while they don’t really sound like Mark Mothersbaugh pieces, there are some decent bops in here. They also got the title card sounds for the intro to each level.
That all said, I did have a few nits to pick. Notably, at least in HD (which is pretty much what I left it on after some initial back-and-forth in the options menu), there is some slight shenanigans when it comes to enemies and certain jumps. As far as the latter is concerned, sometimes it’s a bit difficult to tell whether there’s something to land on or if you’re jumping into a pit. This is partially due to the ability to switch between 8-bit and HD; to manage that effect, the game zooms in to go from 4:3 to 16:9, cutting off some of the top and bottom, but also a bit of the sides. The former is also affected by this to some degree, as enemies can lurk in those blind spots.
The real issue with enemies, however, is occasionally their placement. You’d best believe that anywhere with moving platforms and/or bottomless pits will feature enemies with a Medusa Head flight pattern (though thankfully not at the same speed or volume as their forebears), and if you get blindsided by them, you’re exploring that pit, netting you a loss of two health. It’s also worth noting that there isn’t really much in the way of mercy invincibility, which can make certain spots, particularly in the final level, incredibly frustrating. I don’t care how overall easy or hard your game is, sticking two enemies that can shoot you at the top and other side of a wall that you have to slowly climb a ladder to get over while offering no options to deal with either of these enemies ahead of your climb is rat bastard level design, and I don’t care who knows it. In other words, occasionally, they seem to have taken the wrong lesson for 8-bit platformer design, and you just have to grin and bear it.
The only other nitpick that I feel the need to bring up is probably the most painful: the price of the game. It being a free weekly on Epic aside, they’re selling the game for $25. On the one hand, this is understandable; the license has a cost, and that’s not mentioning the fact that video games don’t grow on trees. On the other hand, though, while there is debate on cost-to-time value when it comes to games, it’s worth noting that this game is roughly 1-2 hours long, with the latter number being incredibly generous. Personally, if I hadn’t gotten it via free giveaway, I’d be more comfortable with it at $20, keeping in mind that prices usually drop once initial saturation is reached and sales start happening. It may be that the price is where it needs to be for the publisher/developer, but it’s still something to keep in mind.
So do I recommend Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland? Yes, though with the proviso above. If you have an Epic account, you should probably go over to their free games page and claim it before next Thursday. As a freebie, it’s an incredibly high value gain. It’s a bit less black and white if you’re buying it after that giveaway or on other platforms. But the overall quality is difficult to deny, and it’s unlikely you’ll be disappointed with your purchase.
Final Score:
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